Speciesism: PETA Claims Saying ’Bring Home the Bacon’ is Hate Speech

Animal rights group says meat based idiom are the same as racism or anti-gay slurs

Could the use of meat-based idioms be a thing of the past to save causing offense?

Animals rights group PETA has called for an end to the use of meat-based idioms, claiming that using phrases such as "bring home the bacon" is "Speciesism" and should be considered hate speech.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals claims that using animal names in negative contexts, such as “take the bull by the horns” or “beat a dead horse” is the equivalent of racism and anti-gay slurs, and the use of such language should be considered a hate crime.

“Words matter, and as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves along with it,” PETA said in a post on Twitter this week, comparing these expressions to racist and homophobic language.

“Here’s how to remove speciesism from your daily conversations,” the tweet advised:

Words matter, and as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves along with it. Here’s how to remove speciesism from your daily conversations. pic.twitter.com/o67EbBA7H4

"Just as it became unacceptable to use racist, homophobic, or ableist language, phrases that trivialize cruelty to animals will vanish as more people begin to appreciate animals for who they are and start ‘bringing home the bagels’ instead of the bacon."

PETA wants meat-based idioms to be considered hate speech on par with racism and homophobic language

According to Breitbart, the tweet includes a graphic recommending substitute language when referencing animals.

Instead of saying “kill two birds with one stone,” people should say “feed two birds with one scone,” although the first phrase refers to using resources wisely to accomplish multiple goals and nothing to do with feeding or literally killing birds.

Instead of “beat a dead horse,” PETA recommends saying “feed a fed horse,” even though“beat a dead horse” means one should not waste time doing something that will not work–nothing to do with feeding horses.

“Be the guinea pig” should change to “be the test tube” and “bring home the bacon” to “bring home the bagels,” referring to PETA’s stance that everyone should be a vegan.

The final entry on the graph is that “take the bull by the horns” – which is meant to express that people should tackle a challenge head-on – should become “take the flower by the thorns.”